Glitch
by traceyastrostar
Summary: Kaiba Corps. is booming with employment and Kaiba is in need of more lackies. So, Ryou Bakura, works in Kaiba Corp. in the mailroom and Anzu is Kaiba’s personal secretary. So, Yuugi, feeling a bit left out of it all, comes up to Kaiba to ask for a job. L
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Kaiba Corps. is booming with employment and Kaiba is in need of more lackies. So, Ryou Bakura, works in Kaiba Corp. in the mailroom and Anzu is Kaiba's personal secretary. So, Yuugi, feeling a bit left out of it all, comes up to Kaiba to ask for a job. Little did either of them know how much of a hassle Yuugi's new job at Kaiba Corps. would get him into: Non – Yaoi

Note: This whole story, is from a Role Playing community on Live Journal. In other words, hundreds of threads. This whole thing is written by dragondancer1014, my good friend, who Role Plays as Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi and me, traceyastrostar, who Role Plays as Seto Kaiba and for this story also as Mokuba. There is a lot of action just give it time and you won't be disappointed. As for those who know dragondancer1014 works you know the action is coming and with me included it's no different.

Disclaimer – "Yu-Gi-oh!" and all related characters, events. and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/producers. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our only benefit is dealing with these wonderful characters.

Chapter 1

Guinea Pig

aibou means partner is what Yami no Yuugi refers to Yuugi as

Yuugi: "Ah . . . Kaiba-kun, any openings for play-testers or anything like that? _grins_ I'm not terribly skilled at computers in the designing side of things, but if there are any bugs in game programs, you know I'll find them! I can help iron out glitches in programs like any new projects you have might going with the Duel Disks or other Solid Vision hologram technology." _hopeful_

Kaiba: "... hmmmm... Ok Yuugi, you can be the guinea pig, uh, I mean bug – tester."

Yuugi: _grinning _"I _heard_ the first one, Kaiba-kun. So . . . what will I be doing, exactly? And when do I start? Eh, and I'll have to clear my times with Grandpa. I still work part-time in the Kame, too. Not that we get so many customers . . . _voice trails off, looks sheepish_

Kaiba: _shifty eyes_ "What first one?...  
Well, you test market the games that are in development process. You can start Monday after school."

Yuugi: _grins to himself at the first comment, won't push the issue_ "Awesome! I'll be there. What time? And . . . heh, guess I'll have to get a bank account. Grandpa's always just paid me out of the till. _sheepish _And . . . um . . . dress code?"

Yami: _is sooooo not sure it's such a good idea to let his aibou_ _work for Kaiba_ . . . _will just have to watch and see how this goes_

Kaiba : _Gives him a you can trust me Yuugi look_  
"After school till 6 and your dress code... well, since all you're doing is testing some new

games for Kaiba Land... the school uniform is fine."

Yami: _notes the look, resists facepalm_

Yuugi: _sees the look but thinks nothing of it – grin_ "All right. See you then, Kaiba-kun! _thinks about that_ Eh . . . guess it'd be Kaiba-_san_ during work hours, huh?" _sheepish_ _and trots off_


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Kaiba Corps. is booming with employment and Kaiba is in need of more lackies. So, Ryou Bakura, works in Kaiba Corp. in the mailroom and Anzu is Kaiba's personal secretary. So, Yuugi, feeling a bit left out of it all, comes up to Kaiba to ask for a job. Little did either of them know how much of a hassle Yuugi's new job at Kaiba Corps. would get him into: Non – Yaoi

Note: This whole story, is from a Role Playing community on Live Journal. In other words, hundreds of threads. This whole thing is written by dragondancer1014, my good friend, who Role Plays as Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi and me, traceyastrostar, who Role Plays as Seto Kaiba and for this story also as Mokuba. There is a lot of action just give it time and you won't be disappointed. As for those who know dragondancer1014 works you know the action is coming and with me included it's no different.

Disclaimer – "Yu-Gi-oh!" and all related characters, events. and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/producers. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our only benefit is dealing with these wonderful characters.

Chapter 2

Yuugi's First Day on the Job

_Yuugi pauses a moment to gaze up at the imposing building before he climbs the steps. He removes his backpack momentarily to make sure he remembered his sack lunch - well, sack dinner - before continuing to contemplate the skyscraper. Quietly, he marvels at himself_, "Wow, I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Well, here goes." _He pulls a deep breath and climbs the steps to the entryway of Kaiba Corp. for his first day as Kaiba's new game tester._  
_  
Yami follows silently alongside, still shaking his head at the whole thing_

_Kaiba is standing in the center of the main floor waiting for Yuugi. Spots him and greets him, smiling creepily_, "Yuugi, welcome." _Goes back to frowning_. "Now, let's get to work. Follow me." _Starts to power walk to elevator and pushes button_

_Yuugi grins as he spots Kaiba._ "Hi, Kaiba-ku- . . . erm, 'san'?" _sweatdrop. He follows with a nod_

_The elevator, opens with a "wosh" and Kaiba steps inside waiting for Yuugi._

_Yuugi follows readily, stepping after Kaiba and trying not to be /too/ obvious in his awe of the rich plushness of the surroundings. He'd been there once before, actually, but had been too . . . erm, preoccupied with other more pressing concerns to have really been able to take note._

_The doors close with another "whoosh" and Kaiba pushes the "B2" button.  
Kaiba looks straight up as always as they progress down._

_Finally, the elevator doors open as they had reached basement 2, an area not traveled/known to anyone expect to either Kaiba or Mokuba._  
_Then the doors open, and fog leaks over both of their feet._  
_Kaiba walks out and motions to Yugi to follow_

Yuugi: "Wow . . . how many basements do you have, Kaiba-kun?"

Kaiba: "Six."

Yami: _looking_ _around, either studying the "new" environment closely _

Yuugi: _had been studying the button panel before exiting_ "Wow, Kaiba-kun, just how big /is/ this place? And . . . what's down here? _light tease, obviously does /not/ mean it_

We're not heading for a Death-Z or something, are we?"

Yami: _is taking in every detail around them, if only because he's rather impressed too_ _reacts to the Death-Z comment with a small start, then wry smirk and shake of head_ "Aibou . . ."

Kaiba: "No, _finding no humor in that- -continues to walk to a locked door, puts his thumb print up to it and the door opens_  
This is where the untested games are kept, Yuugi."

Yuugi: . . . _feels badly that he brought it up, follows, looking around_

_Both of them enter the room and all ahead are all kinds of VR games some for the theme park and others for home entertainment.  
_  
Kaiba: You can start with this.. _holds out a Duel Disk_...  
"this duel disk, you put your deck into it and you're transported into a VR world and all you have to do to leave at ANY time is to turn this switch off. _shows him the switch and hands him the Duel Disk_ Report all glitches to me and don't spend all day there. There's also a clock on the Duel Disk and NEVER come down without me Yuugi. No, one else is allowed down here either, this is TOP SECERT."

Yuugi: _stares in awe, handling gingerly_ "Wow . . . and no pod or even gloves and goggles for this? _looks up, nods solemnly_ Top Secret. I understand and I promise, no one else down here, not without your permission. Duelist's Honor. _slides DD onto arm, slots Deck but does not turn on yet_ The computer will be my opponent then?"

Kaiba: _nods head_ "I have to go back to my office now, if you need anything just buzz me. _throws him an expensive walkie-talkie Kaiba has one on his belt_

Oh, and here's the card key to leave." _throws card key to Yuugi_

Yuugi: _catchesfumblesCATCHES walkie-talkie_ _SWEATDROP_ _snags card key with more finesse_ "Yes. Thank you, Kaiba-kun!" _bows_, _will wait for Kaiba to leave before activating DD_

Yami: _is_ _eyeing the DD with a great deal of interest . . . and /hoping/ his soulbond with Yuugi will let him see what's happening, too_

Yuugi: _grins up at Yami_ "Well, now or never, right?" _switches on the Duel Disk_

Kaiba: "Good luck." _Stalks out of the room and back to the office _


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Kaiba Corps. is booming with employment and Kaiba is in need of more lackies. So, Ryou Bakura, works in Kaiba Corp. in the mailroom and Anzu is Kaiba's personal secretary. So, Yuugi, feeling a bit left out of it all, comes up to Kaiba to ask for a job. Little did either of them know how much of a hassle Yuugi's new job at Kaiba Corps. would get him into: Non – Yaoi

Note: This whole story, is from a Role Playing community on Live Journal. In other words, hundreds of threads. This whole thing is written by dragondancer1014, my good friend, who Role Plays as Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi and me, traceyastrostar, who Role Plays as Seto Kaiba and for this story also as Mokuba. There is a lot of action just give it time and you won't be disappointed. As for those who know dragondancer1014 works you know the action is coming and with me included it's no different.

Disclaimer – "Yu-Gi-oh!" and all related characters, events. and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/producers. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our only benefit is dealing with these wonderful characters.

Game Start!

_Yuugi stood alone on a snowy, windswept cliff edge, still in the virtual world of Kaiba's game._ "N-no . . . how can this be? W-we /beat/ him!"

_Something in how the interface affected the player's senses and mind allowed Yami to participate as well, and the two had enjoyed fighting side-by-side, as they had never been able to do before – making their way through a variety of tough monster fights and challenging puzzles, riddles and games, wielding identical Decks slotted in the Duel Disks on their forearms. They had found a few minor bugs in the programs as they cleared what Yuugi guessed to be some three levels in the four hours they had been there. They could have gotten further but were deliberately taking their time, sometimes leaving the beaten path altogether to ferret out any possible side problems. That was their job, after all – not necessarily to beat the game but to debug it, although beating it would undoubtedly come in its own time. However, this last thing they found was far from a minor bug. Yuugi could only hope that it was an honest mistake in the program and not another trap of Kaiba's. He did not really believe it to be the latter . . . but, all the same, a portion of his heart ached with betrayal and loss in spite of himself._

_They had made their way into a mountain scene and fought what Yuugi guessed to be the boss monster for the level – a sorcerers black dragon. If they cleared this battle, they would open the way to the ancient underground kingdom of the mountain dwarves for the next leg of their quest. However, if they failed, the mage-wyrm would banish them to some other place in the landscape . . . or possibly some level of the Abyss; the barkeeper they talked to back in town couldn't say for sure. The fight with the dragon had been grueling, but they won._

_Only the game system didn't react as though they had. The whole world around them started to shift and fizzle, then snapped back into place – with the dragon suddenly healed of all the damage they had done, while their monsters and spells had vanished. Yuugi's Duel Disk no longer registered his Life Points. It was not doing /anything/. In fact, neither was he, nor could he – Yuugi found himself frozen in place, could only watch as the dragon advanced on Yami, whom he could see calling for him but could not hear his voice. Desperately sweeping the landscape for his aibou, Yami's eyes passed right over Yuugi, as though he were invisible. I must be phased out of time or something, he had realized. He could only watch, helpless, as Yami backpedaled from the dragon in mounting alarm, his Duel Disk similarly unresponsive. The beast had reared up on its hind legs, fore claws gesturing in spell craft. A field of sickly-green glowing energy opened under Yami's feet and he plummeted through, the mystic portal winking out of existence over his head as the dragon snorted, spread its wings and launched into flight for parts unknown._

_Suddenly, Yuugi could move again, the binding force releasing him without warning. He collapsed to his knees as white LED-style letters burned into existence over the place where Yami had been standing only a heartbeat before_. "Player Two: 'Yami' – Game Over."

Yuugi: "N-no . . . "

_In front of him, a second set of text appeared._ "Player One: 'Yuugi' – Continue/Terminate_?" A timer of 30 seconds counted down underneath. Yuugi reached out to touch the word "Continue," and both sets of text vanished. He did not dare end the game and withdraw, possibly leaving Yami behind somewhere in this computer-generated reality. However, his Duel Disk appeared to be locked up as he attempted to access the Help program. He tried the "Refresh/Restart" button. Nothing. After a very long hesitation, he hit the power button. Still nothing_. "_Uh-oh_ . . ." _He reached for the walkie-talkie, praying to every local and national Shinto god he could think of that he would be able to reach the real Kaiba outside of this virtual world . . . _

_Kaiba who has been watching this in his office on and off has already started to race down there, running passed employees and nearly knocking things over and loading his duel disk and grabs his briefcase with his laptop inside._

ZZZZZZZZZ "Kaiba-kun . . . Kaiba-kun, this is Yuugi. Can you hear me?" ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ _Darn it! . . . nothing but static_. _Yuugi put away the walkie-talkie and looked around. sigh_ "Well, I won't accomplish anything just standing here. Hm . . . all right, first thing's first. Go back to the village, see if the programs have unlocked any new data. Maybe the barkeeper will have more information he'll be willing to share. _sweat drop_ I just hope I have enough money . . ."

_Sparing one last, deeply worried look at the spot his long-time partner had been standing, Yuugi turned to the path that led back down the mountain, stamping his feet and rubbing his arms_. "I'll have to remember to let Kaiba-kun know that he did a really good job incorporating all the senses - almost too good. I should find a clothier and buy a cloak while I'm in town."

_"Yami, please . . . /please/ be all right. I'll find you, no matter what. Wait for me, My Other Self_."

_Kaiba, storms into a different part of the basements as the doors shoosh behind him. Kaiba tries to get Yuugi on the walkie-talkie_, "Yuugi, can you hear me?" _ZZZ. As he walks towards a large mainframe computer._

_Yuugi trudges back through the gate of the walled village as the sun began to set, still shivering with the lingering chill of his mountain misadventure. He had tried Kaiba twice again but the walkie-talkie refused to give him a clear signal . . . or something. He had counted his coins and was sure he could afford a hot meal and bed, as well as a chat with the unscrupulous barkeeper. He'd have to see if the program had reset enough for the band of lowl evel goblins on the edge of the swamp to have returned. That would pay enough for a new cloak and breakfast in the morning. Well . . . lunch by the time he got back from that side venture._

_In the dead of night, an unexpected sound wakes Yuugi from a sleep full of nightmares.  
_  
Kaiba: "Yuugi, can you hear me? Over."  
_  
Fighting the bleariness of his weary mind, Yugi fumbled out of the cocoon of blankets, reaching for the bedstand and the walkie-talkie_. "Kaiba-kun! Yes, it's Yuugi! Come in. I-I mean, 'over'." _Or **whatever** the heck the proper protocol is . ._ .

Kaiba: "Where in the game ARE you? Over."

Yuugi: I'm . . . um . . . _rubs_ _the sleep from his eyes_ I'm at the Cracked Mug Inn in Lilton on the northern shore, at the foot of the Misty Mountains. It's . . . um . . . I don't know, waaay late in the game, past midnight. What time is it really? My Duel Disk has been locked up since this afternoon - or, um, I think it was about 10 o'clock real time.

Over. _adds as an afterthought_ - not used to radio protocol

Kaiba: "It's really, 2 in the afternoon, I'm scanning for the glitch in the system to unlock your Duel Disk..."  
_  
Kaiba is messing with the code on Yugi's Duel Disk chip as he talks._

Kaiba: "I think I can unlock your Duel Disk so your LP will come back and monsters but... for some reason the safety feature is turned off and I cannot unlock the on/off switch to bring you back to reality... It looks like you're going to HAVE to finish the game, Yugi but I'm coming in.  
Over."

Yuugi: _shocked_ "I-it's /what/ time? Wow . . . " _pauses while Kaiba works, debating if he should get out of bed and dressed just yet - hears the second set of Kaiba's comments_ "Eh, Kaiba-kun, no. I really don't think that's a good idea! What if you get stuck, too? I really don't think we can afford for /all/ of us to be - ! I mean, 'both' of us . . . "_ He paused, mentally berating himself for the slip-up_. _Darn it! I never know when Kaiba's going to admit Yami exists and when he's going to accuse me of MPD!_ _With a sigh, he waited for Kaiba's reaction._

_In the meantime, a new blip appeared on one of Kaiba's screens. Opening the window, he read, "Player Two: Yami - Game Start. Location: Level Thirteen, 'Abyss, The' - Outer Planes, Game Expansion Supplement One."_

_Kaiba pauses for a moment and is thinking about the time the Big 5 imprisoned him there_

"Well, I wasn't going in there... just someone that looks like me. A carbon - copy, technically. Besides you, can't get out of there by yourself, Yuugi, Over."

_Yes, I probably can but . ._ . _He sighed. Nothing was ever best done alone, however much he didn't like that sometimes. He would prefer not to endanger anyone else_. _At least he didn't say anything about Yami . . ._ "I understand, Kaiba-kun. Will this be a visual with your mind, directly, like what I . . . sort of am right now, or will it be an independent doppelganger programmed to think and behave like you, while your consciousness stays outside? And where should I meet you? Or him . . . it . . . _sigh_ Sorry. And, um . . . over."

Kaiba: "I'll stay right here in the room, and control the doppelganger from here along with trying to debug anything as we go along with the laptop next to me which is hooked up. As well, as the Duel Disk. You can meet... no, I have to meet you since I have to start from the beginning and hopefully, the shortcut is still there so it won't take me long. Over."  
_  
Kaiba begins to play to catch up to where Yuugi is_

Yuugi: " . . . Understood. I'll stay here in Lilton until you get here. If I'm not at the inn, I'll be in the marketplace somewhere, but I'll be sure to stay where you'll find me easily. Thank you, Kaiba-kun. Over."

_Walkie-talkie still in hand, Yuugi laid back down, knowing he wouldn't get any more sleep. For Kaiba, playing the game to the point where Yuugi was might take an hour, maybe even less, but in game time . . . _

"_Wherever you are Yami, hang in there. Kaiba-kun and I are coming. I promise!"_

_After, running and dueling though the VR world, about an hour in VR time and fixing some glitches, Kaiba enters the town in which Yuugi is in.  
And begins to look for him.._

Kaiba: _On walkie-talkie_ "Yuugi, Yuugi, where are you? Over."

_Yuugi had dozed off but woke with a gasp, fumbling for the walkie-talkie that had fallen from his hand_. "Kaiba-kun! I'm here! I mean, I'm at the Cracked Mug, still, in Room 14, but I can come meet you. Where are you?"

_Kaiba is about to answer when a dark figure comes out of the darkness and starts circling VR Kaiba from a distance. VR Kaiba gets his duel disk armed and ready and at the moment forgets about Yugi. Yugi hears the walkie-talkie click for a moment as it hits the ground and then it's silent_

"Kaiba-kun? Kaiba-kun!" _Yuugi dove out of bed and dressed in seconds, bolting out the door, down the hall and onto the street, fumbling with his Duel Disk on the thin hope that it would power up. It was not like Kaiba not to respond. That meant something had happened, or was about to . . . _

_Back in the basement, Kaiba is at the computer wondering where those shadow ghouls came from_

Back in the VR, Kaiba pulls out Blue Eyes, and some face down cards, to attack but can't keep up with the Ghoul who keeps disappearing within the walls. The Ghoul takes VR Kaiba's deck and disappears into the mountains. VR Kaiba just stands there dazed for a moment from the beast swirling around him and then picks up the walkie-talkie to phone Yuugi.

_Yuugi bolts down the darkened street, wishing the street lamps hadn't burned out already. It was probably two in the morning, game time. With no better direction to take, he was headed for the gate through which he had entered the town, guessing that Kaiba would be somewhere along the way, if he had traced Yuugi's path to arrive there._

_Back in the real world, Kaiba's Duel Disk that was hooked up to the mainframe was infected by a computer virus. All his cards except his Blue -Eyes White Dragon and his three face down cards were the only one's useable till the virus was gotten rid of._

VR Kaiba _on walkie-talkie_:  
"Yuugi, I'm in the entrance of the village and was attacked I think by a virus that went up the mountain. When we meet up, I've found a way to get you out of here without having to finish the game but it won't be easy. Tell me where you are, over."

_Without breaking stride, Yuugi snatched the walkie-talkie off his belt at the sound of Kaiba's voice._ "Kaiba-kun, stay put. I'm coming to you, almost there. Over."

_A virus, huh? Must mean a computer virus._ _Shaking his head, Yuugi slowed long enough to remove his Deck from the Deck slot on his Disk, securing it back in his hip case. No call for both of them to lose their Decks if it could be helped._

He was almost to an intersection on the main road. To his left, he would be able to see the gate and, he hoped, Kaiba.

_Back in the basement, the screen continued to flash for Kaiba's attention. Player Two had moved, but had yet to engage in any of the confrontations necessary to leave the Outer Planes._

_Back in the real world, Kaiba is tracking the computer virus.  
_  
VR Kaiba: _notices Yuugi and signals and power walks over_

_In the real world Kaiba notices that player two is flashing?_

"Player two?" Kaiba said to himself

_in the walkie talkie_

"Yuugi,... who's player 2?"

_Yuugi spotted VR Kaiba waving and jogged to meet him halfway - or as close to that as their difference in stride-lengths would allow. Just then, Kaiba's voice sounded again over the walkie-talkie_. "Yuugi, who's Player 2?"

Yuugi: "Not you?" _he startled, then gasped_. "Yami! It _must_ be! Where is he? We got separated when the system locked up yesterday afternoon . . . erm, or whenever that was in real time."

VR Kaiba: "Player 2, whomever that is... is in the mountains near the dwarves entrance. I'm trying to reactivate the Duel Disk as I speak."

_A grunt of frustration escaped Yuugi before he could catch it. Gods, Kaiba-kun . . . "Yami. Other Yuugi. Pharaoh's spirit from my Millennium Puzzle. Remember the conversation in your helicopter, on the way to the pier where Malik had Jonouchi-kun? Just because you refuse to acknowledge him doesn't mean he doesn't exist. Because our minds and souls are so deeply connected, he was able to follow me into this virtual world. We fought the dragon that's the level boss there on that mountain and we won . . . but the program reset or something - froze up on me while the dragon banished Yami like he'd lost. If he's still on that mountain, I didn't see him. Where does the program script say a player who loses that battle is sent to?" He knew he was coming across with uncharacteristic rudeness but he was too worried for his partner to apologize. "If he's been sent to some Abyssal level like the barkeeper said . . . and /his/ Duel Disk isn't working, either . . . " He swallowed. There was nothing he could do about that for now. In a low voice, he asked_, "How's the reactivation coming along, Kaiba-kun? And . . . should we head back up the mountain, you think?"

Kaiba thinking to himself: _"Why is there a player two and I'm player three?  
Another glitch in the program?... Could Yuugi possibly be right?"  
Flash back to the first episode when Yuugi drew Exodia..._

"How else could that be explained? But still I won't let myself acknowledge the fact of it. It's too illogical. What should I say, I can't admit to him the fact of it..."

VR Kaiba: "To answer your question as to where the players are suppose to go during game over is back to reality... but since player two keeps flashing... something must be keeping that protocol from happening. I'll say our best bet, Yuugi to end this nightmare we have to shut down the game from the inside."

_Kaiba back in the REAL WORLD, is working on fixing PLAYER 2's DUEL Disk_

_Yuugi pulled a deep steadying breath, letting go of the threatening panic and equal exasperation at his longtime friend/rival_. "So . . . how do we go about doing that? Go back up the mountain and try to get in the dwarf kingdom again?"VR Kaiba: "I got the Duel Disks working, Yuugi, at least for Player 1 and 2 but... _looks down at Duel Disk_ Mine is another story... I still at least have my Blue - Eyes and three trap/magic cards."

_  
Yuugi hesitated, looking at his own Duel Disk which had just hummed to life on his arm. He took out his Deck from the case on his hip, contemplated, then shuffled for a moment, split it in half and held up half to Kaiba_. "Kaiba-kun, you won't survive long with only four cards, even with Blue-Eyes. Here. That way we each have a chance of getting through this."

VR Kaiba: _Looks at what Yuugi is holding up to him. Like in a way that he is touched. _

VR Kaiba: _Looks at his LP count at 4000_

VR Kaiba: "I **can't** take half of your deck.  
For one, your cards... well, I can't use them as good as you and besides... as soon as we get up there it'll be fine. It's not like you have to offer monsters to play them."

Yuugi: _frowns in concern_ "You don't need sacrifices to play the Blue-Eyes here, but once cards are used or destroyed, they still go to the Graveyard, Kaiba-kun. My cards won't work for you as well as your own, I know, but they _will_ work for you. They know you. Trust me. And we don't know how far we'll have to go before we can recover _your_ Deck, or hook up with - _frowns, can argue more later but not now_ - with Player Two, assuming he still has _his_ Deck intact, too. Please, Kaiba-kun . . ." _is still offering the half Deck, though he won't push - has had his say_

_Looks at Yugi's cards... those cards that had defeated him countless times and within reach and being offered to him. A slight twitch at the thought. _

VR Kaiba: ... _Looks down one more time at his four cards;_

Kaiba:_ thinking; "As much as I hate to admit it, Yuugi's right. What other chance do I have." closes eyes for a brief moment hating to have to rely on help_

VR Kaiba: "If that's what you want and you trust me enough too..."  
_slowly takes the cards from him._

Yuugi: _big grin on his face but also heartfelt tone_ "Awesome! Yes, Kaiba-kun. I _do_ trust you. Now, come on! Let's go get Yami and your Deck back and get the heck out of here! _will lead the way in the direction to return up the mountain_ There's a stable in the foothills that will let us rent some drakes to fly up there. By the time we get there, they may be open for morning business."

_ VR Kaiba looks at the cards Yuugi handed him. Those same cards that have defeated were now in his hands and he could easily destroy them once and for all. But **deep deep deep deep deep deep deep deep deep deep** down Kaiba knew he would have done the same for Yuugi._

VR Kaiba:_ takes out his other cards that are infected and places in belt deck box shuffles Yugi's cards with his own and inserts into duel disk _"How about dragons, instead of drakes?"

_Yuugi skidded to a stop. He knew he didn't have any dragons in his current Deck. Was Kaiba suggesting what Yuugi thought he was? He turned over his shoulder with a spreading grin._

Yuugi: "I'm game!"

**List of the Cards Yuugi gave Kaiba**

**Monsters: Gamma Magnet Warrior, Kuriboh, Big Shield Gardna, Old Vindictive Magician, Alpha Magnet Warrior, Queen's Knight, King's Knight, Witch of the Black Forest, Dark Paladin, Archfiend of Gilfer, and Dark Magician **

**Spells: Polymerization, Pot of Greed, Thousand Knives, Monster Reborn, Card Destruction, Magic Formula, Fissure, Rod of the Mind's Eye, Change of Heart**

**Traps: Mirror Force, Dust Tornado, Magical Hats, Trap Jammer**

_VR Kaiba is standing there looking at his Duel Disk and what he just inserted... thinking: The Dark Magician, Dark Paladin?  
VR Kaiba could only stand there and flinch thinking of all those past duels with those two cards._

VR Kaiba: "I know you don't have any dragons in your deck, but... there are ways in this game to get some... All we have to do is find the cloaked man in black before day breaks... which isn't very long... _looking up at sky _Then we shall play a friendly game of playing cards, _not Duel monsters_ I'll wager the money I have in the game and sooner or later Hank, will wager his two dragon eggs, from there we go to the main shopping center and purchase the Time Wizard card and use it's magic to age the Dragon eggs."

Yuugi: _nods_ "We'd better hurry, then. We can't have more than an hour or two at this rate. If you know where to find him, let's go. I'll follow your lead." _He waits for Kaiba to indicate a direction, then takes off after him, hard-pressed to keep up with Kaiba's much_ _longer stride_ _But what if Time Wizard's arrow falls on a - . . . No, Time Wizard won't fail us. He'll pull through, just like he always has.  
Gods, for Yami's sake, I hope this works. Be strong, Other Me!_


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Kaiba Corps. is booming with employment and Kaiba is in need of more lackies. So, Ryou Bakura, works in Kaiba Corp. in the mailroom and Anzu is Kaiba's personal secretary. So, Yuugi, feeling a bit left out of it all, comes up to Kaiba to ask for a job. Little did either of them know how much of a hassle Yuugi's new job at Kaiba Corps. would get him into: Non – Yaoi

Note: This whole story, is from a Role Playing community on Live Journal. In other words, hundreds of threads. This whole thing is written by dragondancer1014, my good friend, who Role Plays as Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi and me, traceyastrostar, who Role Plays as Seto Kaiba and for this story also as Mokuba. There is a lot of action just give it time and you won't be disappointed. As for those who know dragondancer1014 works you know the action is coming and with me included it's no different.

Disclaimer – "Yu-Gi-oh!" and all related characters, events. and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/producers. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our only benefit is dealing with these wonderful characters.

Chapter 4

The NetherPlane

_groooooaaannnnnnn_

_Yami lay still for a moment longer as consciousness slowly, painfully returned. He felt like he'd been put through a taffy-pulling machine, and whoever had stuffed his head to the breaking point with silly putty was going to pay. Dearly_. "Nnnghh . . . "

_He lay half curled on his side on a hard-packed surface, a hot breeze caressing his face._ _Eh? Hot! What happened to the snow? He realized that he heard movement behind him and froze, straining to make sense of the none-too-distant noises. They sounded like the scuffling and growling of animals until he realized that there were intelligent words mixed in the yips and snarls. It was no language he had ever heard but . . ._

_He cracked one eye open to find himself gazing on a surreal landscape. Not only was the rocky terrain awash in reds and purples, but so was the acrid sky, a reek of sulfur filling his nose. _

"Heh . . . so it lives, does it?"

_Yami rolled in alarm to face the owner of the inhuman voice, and felt his breath catch in his throat. He had seen a few Duel Monster cards that rivaled these beasts in ferocity of appearance but had never laid eyes on one face-to-face, even via Solid Vision. The half-dozen demonic horrors towered over his prone form, probably eight to ten feet in height for the shortest among them. Tusks and horns and claws, leathery wings, smoky breath . . . and a wicked gleam in each glowing eye. Yami met their gazes with no visible hint on his face of the inner misgivings growing in the pit of his stomach, and pulled slowly to his feet. He spared a quick glance at the Duel Disk still riding his left arm. It appeared to be dead._

"And just where do you think _you're_ going, little one."

_Yami held his breath as a slimy, reptilian thing sniffed along the overhanging ledge above, almost certain it would find him just on the sledgehammer noise of his pounding heart. Thanking the gods for his dwarfed stature and slim, lithe build, he had managed to cram himself into one of the few crevices in the ravine large enough to hide him._

_He looked ruefully at the Duel Disk on his arm, the device still unresponsive. Without it, his Deck was useless to him. He had managed to avoid capture so far on agility and wits alone – even left the previous level for a new location by the solving of a tetris-style puzzle that unlocked a portal to another of the Outer Planes – but divested of his only offensive weapon, he knew it was only a matter of time before his favor with the goddess of victory ran out._

_Back in his office, the screen continued to flash for Kaiba's attention. Player Two had moved, but had yet to engage in any of the confrontations necessary to leave the Outer Planes._

_Is this **my** penalty game? Payback for all the times I've won with seeming impunity? Karma can be a cruel mistress. _Yami glanced up from his shovel to take in the sights around him. _Chh, as though looking one more time will make them change . . ._

_He had pushed his luck one time too many, attempting to cross a barren field unnoticed by a passing patrol of what looked like imps of some kind to reach a town he could see across a ravine, hoping to find a way to gather information as to exactly where he was and how to return to the place he'd left Yugi. The imps and a pack of hellish hounds had caught sight of him, however, and swarmed him, beating him senseless before he could extract himself from their midst. He awoke in a strip mine in the ravine below the town, his Duel Disk gone – along with his Deck. The wretched souls around him were all variations of about four character designs, and none of them possessed enough cognitive programming to really interact with, let alone try to enlist in an escape attempt. He had already suffered punishment for trying – a beast like a European gargoyle had caught him, dragging him to the boss of the mines. From Yugi's admittedly vague knowledge of Japanese mythology, Yami recognized a goblin spider when he saw one. They were fast, cunning, masters of spellcraft and infamous sadists. _

_The game system was not programmed to handle extraneous details like torture. Yami blacked out as he was hauled down a corridor in the small manor on the edge of town, regaining cognition right away as far as he could tell . . . but in immense agony. He suspected he had lost at least three-quarters of his Life Points just from that, though he had no way of measuring it without his Duel Disk. He was returned to the mines, deposited bodily into the keeping of a gargoyle overseer. He thought that he had recovered some of that lost LP in the form of the wound-binding and healing salves with which one of the other slaves had tended him, but he knew he could not risk such a thing again, not without some clear assurance of success._

_With a gasp, he returned to his work before the passing gargoyle could "remind" him of his duties – the triple-tailed whip he carried only stole LP a point at a time, but that made it no less terrible in its punishing touch. However, the gargoyle stopped and turned, greeting the lord of the town as he strode by in his inspection of the mines. Yami would have paid the baalrog no heed, but a flash of red-and-white in a familiar shape caught his eye, and he had to bite back a snarl before the overseer could hear. That hell-spawned demon has my Duel Disk!_

_And . . . the LP counter . . . is lit . ._

_Yami angrily swallowed down a moan of pain as he collapsed, dropped unceremoniously at the feet of the monstrous town lord. He had blacked out again until just now but could guess well enough what the program did not directly play out._

_Under cover of night, he had tried yet again to escape the mines, succeeding this time. However, instead of leaving the area, he slipped into town, hating the role of common thief to which he had been reduced as he made his way into the depths of the twisted castle at its center, in which lived the town's lord – the lord of this whole land, he had since learned – the demonic baalrog-like creature that had his Duel Disk, his Deck. At least, that had been his first impression but now he questioned just what the horror had really been. He realized too late that the monsters had been toying with him by letting him get deep inside, where there would be no escape, before springing their ambush with wicked glee. Four Whip-Tailed Crows had swooped from the rafters of the great hall, cornering him as he slunk along the wall, their tails snaking around his trunk and limbs. They had dragged him to the center of the room facing a massive throne before two let go, the other pair holding him fast by the wrists of his upraised arms. He hung, struggling in vain, until a vile presence stopped him cold. He had looked up only to shrink back in uncustomary fear from the beast that swept into the hall, recognizing the Duel Monster now that he was close enough to get a good look. The "baalrog" was Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, a tenth-level Dark Fiend with fully 4000 Attack and Defense points, a horror that rivaled the great war god Obelisk himself in raw power if not in Effect. Yami's Duel Disk rode his left arm, looking comically small on the massive limb. The beast had looked down at him, then focused past and behind him, a cruel grin twisting his lips. Yami had managed to shift and glance over his shoulder before the Crows shook him into facing forward again, and got a glimpse of what he thought might be an Electric Lizard. He couldn't quite see but guessed from the buzzing noise behind him what the purple beast might have in hand._

**_CRACKZAP!_** "AAHHHH!"

_Never mind. Yami knew. Electro-whip. It was then that he had blacked out._

_He rolled now a little onto his side, lifting his head to gaze up at the monstrosity towering over him. Raviel held his Duel Disk in one massive clawed hand, grinning wickedly. Yami thought he could see "100" in the LP screen. Raviel smirked down at him. "Looking for this, were you?" He pulled the Deck from the slot, then crushed the Duel Disk with ease._

Yami gasped in horror. "No! _Bastard!_"

_Disembodied laughter filled the chamber. Yami fought his way upright to hands and knees on the strength of defiance and surprise alone, thinking he recognized . . . Then the young, almost childlike voice spoke, stealing any doubt he had, impossible as it was to believe._

"Do you like my new Deck Master, Yugi-Who-Isn't?"

_A young boy, perhaps 10 years old, materialized to sit on Raviel's shoulder, a gnat compared to the behemoth. Intense, dark eyes under soft locks of unruly mint-green gazed down at him with all the arrogance Yami recalled from their last encounter . . . but that was impossible! Kaiba Noah was dead! He died when –_

_Could one really consider it "death" when it was the destruction of a computer program, albeit self-aware, being discussed? Yami guessed that it was about as moot a debate as to say whether or not he himself could be "killed," per se, seeing as how he was already technically dead. In either case, all data on the computer program that had once been the brainscan of Gozaburo's biological son, Noah, should have gone to the bottom of the Sea of Japan with the massive battleship that had intercepted the Battle City blimp on the way to Alcatraz Island. Yet the fact remained – the same face, same voice met his gaze, same eyes boring into his own. Yami growled, defiant to the last_. "_You_ . . . "

_The boy waggled a finger at him_. "Tsk, tsk . . . not wise to take a tone like that with one who could break you for good at this point, pharaoh. And if you haven't noticed, you don't have a lot of life left in you, now have you? Oh, sorry! Guess you can't tell. You don't have your Duel Disk anymore." The boy laughed, then waved a hand. "Here. Take a good look."

_Yami flinched back involuntarily, only to growl at himself for the skittishness. It was not an attack but a stat screen appearing over his right shoulder, a two-dimensional field of horizontal blue with "100" in a yellow-ish font at its center. A similar virtual screen appeared by the boy, but this one read "10,000."_

"Seem familiar? How's your memory these days, pharaoh? I know you can't recall anything back past the last few years, but a long sleep in stasis will do that to you, from what I understand." He scowled.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Kaiba Corps. is booming with employment and Kaiba is in need of more lackies. So, Ryou Bakura, works in Kaiba Corp. in the mailroom and Anzu is Kaiba's personal secretary. So, Yuugi, feeling a bit left out of it all, comes up to Kaiba to ask for a job. Little did either of them know how much of a hassle Yuugi's new job at Kaiba Corps. would get him into: Non – Yaoi

Note: This whole story, is from a Role Playing community on Live Journal. In other words, hundreds of threads. This whole thing is written by dragondancer1014, my good friend, who Role Plays as Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi and me, traceyastrostar, who Role Plays as Seto Kaiba and for this story also as Mokuba. There is a lot of action just give it time and you won't be disappointed. As for those who know dragondancer1014 works you know the action is coming and with me included it's no different.

Disclaimer – "Yu-Gi-oh!" and all related characters, events. and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/producers. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our only benefit is dealing with these wonderful characters.

Chapter 5

Plot Thickens

_VR Kaiba and Yuugi come across Hank, at a table closing up his gambling shop for the night._

VR Kaiba: "Hold on Hank!"  
_Hank looks up_

"I have a wager for you! So, grab your cards and let's GO!"  
_holds out bag of money _

Hank takes out his playing cards and the two between playing poker. Finally, it comes down to the last game, and Hank still hasn't wagered his dragon eggs and Kaiba is starting to worry, on just how much of this game has been changed...

Finally, Hank pulls out a white dragon egg and a black dragon egg, however the game changes to Texas Hold'em...  
Kaiba: "? What the? How'd that get in the program?" -himself-

The game gets intense with each flip of the card, but in the end, Kaiba wins and Hank hands over the eggs and disappears as the sun rises

_Yuugi watches the game with interest. Poker was a game his grandfather had mastered in his own youth, though he taught it to his grandson only with some reluctance. Yugi nods silently at some of Kaiba's plays, enjoying the cunning skill of his partner_. _But . . . where are the dragon eggs?_ _Hank finally brings them out, but changes the game. Yugi notes the reaction on Kaiba's face, barely noticeable – only one who knows Kaiba well would pick it up, but that honor Yuugi has. He begins to worry, hoping Kaiba knows this game in spite of that look – he himself has never played. He will not be able to help if needed_.

_He follows the increasingly-intense game, learning the rules even as he prays to the goddess of fortune for Kaiba's victory. At length, she makes her decision, smiling on Kaiba with a definitive win. As Hank disappears, Yugi turns to Kaiba_.

Yuugi: "Awesome! Those were some great games, Kaiba-kun! And I think I remember seeing the shop in the marketplace that carries the Time Wizard." _will wait for Kaiba to gather up and take off, walking/jogging at his side_

_as they travel_ Yuugi: "Heh . . . you know, Kaiba-kun, using Time Wizard to age a dragon – Baby Dragon, actually, into Thousand-Year Dragon – is an old trick of Jonouchi-kun's. _smiles to himself_ In fact, I remember when I gave him Time Wizard . . . on the boat to Duelist Kingdom Island . . ."_falls silent, remembering a number of things from that period of time . . . will eventually frown to himself, then shake his head and let go with a sigh, refocusing on the task at hand_

_VR Kaiba and Kaiba in the control room are both eyeing, Yuugi as he was bring up Duelist Kingdom, and are both silent as Kaiba carries the two dragon eggs in his one arm. Some things he thought, should not be bought up, such as the past. That he **wishes** so much that could be left behind instead of leaving a chip the size of the national debt on his shoulder.  
VR Kaiba turns to Yugi and remarks_  
"I know that's Wheeler's trick. However, these are not going to become Thousand Dragon."  
_Both arrive in the market place but is oddly, quiet, nothing but a tumbleweed is there. VR Kaiba looks about as if a showdown is going to start and they're not ready yet._

Yuugi: " . . . _not_ going to become Thousand Dragon."

Yuugi: _softly_ "I know. I was just . . . remembering . . . " _Good times . . . and not so good times._ _Yuugi wonders if Kaiba picks up the unspoken thoughts in his tone_. _Not all of the past is bad. Even Duelist Kingdom . . . well, no, for you, those probably **are** all bad memories. I'm so sorry, Kaiba-kun. And so is Yami. I know he is – I've felt it_. _He suppresses another sigh, wishing he can help Kaiba see that memories are still important, even the bad ones. There is something worthwhile to be taken from every event, good and bad. However, Battle City had taught him that Kaiba would probably never accept that ideal_. _Even still, I will hold out hope for you. You won't admit it, but you are my friend, and I will continue to believe that you **will** one day find true happiness . ._ .

_They round the corner to the marketplace-turned-ghost-town and Yugi catches his breath in shock_.

Yuugi: _wry humor_ " I . . . think we found another system glitch, Kaiba-kun. _Duelist's instincts kick into overdrive as he looks around, sensing the yet-unseen threat, hand hovering over his Deck_

_Yuugi doesn't relieve that my **only** happiness is my power, greed, money and Mokuba... Friends are for losers, Yugi. The only person any person can trust in this world is themselves.  
**Back in the real world, Kaiba is trying to figure out what happened.. It didn't seem like a glitch, considering the computer code was missing... **  
Kaiba: Pounds keyboard  
_"Damn it! Computer, run a search on where the file deletions and code deletions are coming from.  
It looks like I'll have to cheat... There's more than one way to get Time Wizard..."

VR Kaiba: "Yuugi, this is starting really to get dangerous. We're going to have to get out of here as soon as possible. An outside source is corrupting the code."_ Power walks in other direction keeping guard up_

_Yuugi doesn't see the thoughts in Kaiba's eyes as they walk, his own on the road ahead. Then they arrive. . . . Kaiba's comments and he turns to leave_.

Yuugi: _jogging to keep up, also maintaining alert-senses_ " 'An outside . . . ' Not the Big 5 again, you think?" _Gods, just what we **don't** need . . . and Yami out there somewhere by himself, without any support . ._ . "You know a lot more about computers than I ever will. What kinds of problems can we expect to meet? What are our possibilities?" _is every bit as much of a strategist as Yami – and therefore knows to gather as much information on the opponent as possible to start planning counterattacks_

VR Kaiba: "No, I don't think it's the Big 5 after they were banished for good this time in cyber space... and we're not hooked up to the net so...  
As far as problems go... _Kaiba pauses in what computer problems they could run into. Kaiba is just silent not wanting to tell Yuugi how bad it could get and hopefully won't. Soon, VR Kaiba and Yugi come upon an ATM machine except this doesn't vector out money but Duel Monster cards.  
Meanwhile back in the control room, Kaiba has lost Player 2 signal_  
Yuugi, I've lost Player 2 on the map... completely."

_The two had crossed most of town before coming upon the ATM-like card dispenser. Yuugi manages to suppress a chuckle, wondering if this were the cheat Kaiba had mentioned. Kaiba's words, however, stop him cold, and he turns to look up at his longtime rival-turned-partner, gaze filled with a horror Kaiba had never seen in those normally merry amethyst eyes. There is no malice, no blame, only shocked disbelief._

Yuugi: "W-what . . . do you mean . . . you've lost him?"

VR Kaiba: "His Duel Disk has stopped responding.  
The signal is either gone or too weak to be traced."

_VR Kaiba deposits some coins into the ATM card dispenser and punches in "71625222"  
and moments later the Time Wizard card pops out of the slot into VR Kaiba's hand_

_Yuugi continues to stare at Kaiba, the new card in his partner's hand barely registering as he mind races_. _Gone . . . lost . . . NO! He **can't** be gone! Besides, our souls are connected. If he dies, I'll die too . . . so he **must** be okay!_ _Kaiba sees his eyes clear, hardening with resolve_  
Yuugi: "Kaiba-kun, we have to _find_ him. We can't leave - /I/ can't leave - until we do. His last registered location was still up in the mountains, right? We need to hurry. His time may be running out!" _gestures at the Time Wizard card, refusing the tears that threaten the backs of his eyes_

VR Kaiba: "Where do you think we're headed? To go see Santa Claus?  
Why did we spend so much trouble on Time Wizard, so we could get up to the mountains. Besides, Yuugi, that's the **ONLY **place that the game can be shut down from the inside is **in **the mountains. It's just going to be harder to find Player 2, now. I just can't get a direct location anymore."  
_VR Kaiba slowly puts down dragon eggs and motions to Yuugi to stand back as he raises Time Wizard card_  
_Inside the control room Kaiba, all wired up, is still picking his brain on whom or what is corrupting his code. _

Kaiba: "It just **CAN'T **be..."

_shakes head "no"_

_Yuugi studies him for a long moment, almost sullen. But Kaiba is right. This is the only way, and they are already on that path._  
Yuugi: _swallows, eyes falling away to dragon eggs_ "I-I know, Kaiba-kun. I'm sorry. I'm afraid I'm really upset right now, and . . . Anyway . . . " _gestures for Kaiba to continue, stepping back, taking comfort that, by Kaiba's words, at least it sounds like he does intend to help find Yami_

_Other Me . . . gods, please be all right. I wish I knew what's going on . . ._

_VR Kaiba holds up the Time Wizard and Time Wizard appears and the begins to spin...  
VR Kaiba watches intently as the hand spins._

_Kaiba thinking: Come on..._

_Yuugi watches, tense and silent, mentally urging_ . . .

Yuugi thinking: _Time Wizard, you've never let us down . . . please! Hear us, Heart of the Cards!_

_VR Kaiba slowly watches as the spinner slowly comes to a stop...  
Kaiba thinking: Not skull, not skull!_

_Yuugi holds his breath, not daring to make a sound. Finally, the spinner creeps to a stop – nearly on a skull, but jerks at the last instant to a rook space. Yuugi nearly goes weak with relief, a shout of joy escaping him before he can catch it._

_VR Kaiba and Yuugi, watch as time passes a thousand years on the dragon eggs and watch as the eggs hatch into baby dragons, one shiney white with yellow eyes and one black with green eyes. Time Wizard then disappears _

VR Kaiba: "One more thing, Yuugi,... it may be best if we get saddles for the dragons in order to ride them."

_Yuugi looks up in wonder at the two young but powerful beasts. Wow . ._ .

Yuugi: _nods_ "I remember seeing a leather crafter and saddler on the other side of town, opposite where the market used to be." _Figuring Kaiba would want the white dragon that is reminiscent of his Blue-Eyes, Yugi puts a hand on the neck of the black one, reminded of Jonouchi as he urges it to follow him_  
_This time Yuugi led the way to the shop, hoping it too had not changed or vanished on them completely, with Kaiba a step behind and the dragons trailing. At length, the shop came into view, just as Yuugi remembered it, and a sun-browned man in his middle years stepped out from behind a counter, greeting them with a grin._ "Well, now, and what can I do for you two fine young gentlemen this morning?"

Yuugi: _with a bow_ "Saddles and tack for two dragons, please." _Yuugi paused, glancing up at Kaiba. He was not about to antagonize his partner by saying so, but with still holding the gambled earnings they **didn't** spend on Time Wizard, he hoped Kaiba planned to buy the equipment they needed. He knew he didn't have enough left in his coinpouch for even one set, let alone two._

_The shop owner came back with two sets of saddles and tacks for the dragons._  
"OK now, need help putting those on, and which of you gentlemen is paying?"  
_VR Kaiba hands the shop owner his entire sack of money _  
VR Kaiba: "If you don't mind harnessing the dragons, we are in a hurry."

_Shop owner starts to harness the dragons one by one._ "Alright, there you go."  
_VR Kaiba gives a bow and mounts onto the dragon _  
_Meanwhile, back in the control room, Kaiba who is mul - tasking is starting to run low on caffeine_

_Yuugi follows suit, after a bow and word of deep gratitude of his own, and his dragon launches after Kaiba's. Yuugi looks at his companion in some concern as he catches up. Something doesn't see quite right. Kaiba looks . . . tired_.

Yuugi thinking: "_How long has it been since Kaiba-kun slept? I'll bet he'd already been working some long hours before all this started . ._ . "Kaiba-kun . . . ?" _He catches himself from asking_ "Are you all right?" _as he already knows the answer, truth or not. Kaiba is as stubborn as they come, not that Yuugi can blame him. Still the unspoken question can be heard in his tone._

VR Kaiba: "I'm fine, Yuugi."  
_looks at him out of the corner of his eye_

_True, it's been so long since Kaiba's last cup of coffee, his fuel, and having always worked 20 hours everyday is finding it hard to function without a cup of coffee and has no idea being all wired up how he's going to get one_

Yuugi thinking: "_Of course you are . ._ ."

_Yuugi can't deny that he's worried, but to say anything will be to invite a rebuttal rather than doing anything to help. Thinks: "Darn it, Kaiba-kun!" But that won't help anything either. Instead, he turns his dragon to follow the trail he and Yami took yesterday, leading the way into the mountains. That is what will get something accomplished_.

Kaiba in control room: "Cofffffeeeeeee."

_grabs cell phone and calls Mokuba requesting coffee bought down, post - haste _

VR Kaiba: _trying to keep himself awake and looks into the distance and sees specks of black shadows in the distance but disregards them as just seeing things_

"Yuugi, do you think it's a good idea to follow the same path? There's a quicker way up the mountain that way." _points to where the shadowy figures_

_Yuugi has been keeping an eye on Kaiba with furtive sidelong glances, been half tempted more than once to reach over and poke him to keep him from falling off his dragon, but has thought better of it so far. At Kaiba's comment, he looks up the way of the shortcut, then out where Kaiba's pointing_.

Yuugi thinking: "_Ut-oh . . we can't let anything slow us down!_ Yes. Let's go!" _swings his dragon around in the direction of the shortcut_

_Meanwhile in the Real World, Mokuba rushes down to the basement just as his big brother is about to pass out and shoves it down his throat._

_Meanwhile in the VR World Kaiba is lying almost unconscious on his dragon_

Yuugi: _as Kaiba slumps forward_ ! "Kaiba-kun!" _angles his dragon to glide just under Kaiba's, bats at his foot_ "Kaiba-kun! What's wrong! Wake up!" _turns to eye nervously the black spots that are nearing, just beginning to guess at their shapes_

_Mokuba continues to give his brother coffee and noticing what's going on, decides to help as his brother recovers._

_A familiar screeching fills the air as a flight of Harpy Ladies close, bent on the hunt. With Kaiba barely conscious in his saddle, Yuugi turns to meet the dozen-plus deadly beauties, switching on his Duel Disk and slotting his half-Deck in one smooth, practiced motion. He draws five cards, pauses, draws a sixth, and sets himself to wait until they were in range, his dragon angling protectively ahead of Kaiba's._

_Yuugi draws another card as the Harpies close the distance_ _Multiply and Rapid-Fire Magician. Hm, Multiply along with Kuriboh might work against so many attackers, but . . . I think Kaiba-kun has him right now._ _glances sidelong, still worried, then refocuses_ "Set facedown magic card and summon Rapid-Fire Magician!" _slots the spell card, a holographic copy appearing under his dragon, his Monster floating alongside_. _Just then, the swarm hits, washing over the two dragons, clawing brutally, Electro-Whips lashing._ _Kaiba-kun! Damn . ._ . "Rapid-Fire Magician, defend! AH!" _Yuugi manages to point at his companion before being forced to throw both arms over his face and head, protecting from the physical injury of the Direct Attacks, unaware of the brief glance of alarm the sorcerer casts him before shifting to obey. The Magician is destroyed, but leaves Kaiba unharmed. Yugi murmurs, feeling for a moment the claw gashes of nearly 3000 Attack Points, thankful that this game starts with double the normal Life Points of the tournaments to which he is accustomed_ _That's not right! Harpy Lady's normally 1300, plus Electro-Whip, plus being in the mountains . . . n-no . . . Harpy Lady **Sisters** . ._ . "Gods, that /is/ right . . . 2800-something if he is doing his mental math correctly. _There are at least three magic cards in play. If I can get those off the field . . ._ _He drew_ "_Yes!"! And rather poetic, too_. "Play spell card, Harpies Feather Duster!" _The Harpies shriek, their whips – and two-thirds of their numbers – vanishing as the mountains below him shudder, their effect negated_.

_Just then right after Yuugi defeated the Harpie's something else was coming their way on, which looked somewhat like an another red dragon_

_The three remaining original Harpies swooped, backing off uncertainly. Yuugi hesitated as well, drawing another card as he watched the approaching newcomer. Gods, he hoped it was a friendly. He did not know if he could take on another opponent, not with Kaiba to protect as well . . ._

_Kaiba raises his slightly at the new comer and passes back out and the dragon appears to have no one on it, the question remained, friend or foe_

_Yuugi draws a second time, adding Dark Hole to Beta the Magnet Warrior_. "_Yes!"_ "Activate magic card, Dark Hole!" _The remaining Harpies screech and vanish . . . but the approaching dragon does not_. _Ut-oh . . . _"Summon Beta the Magnet Warrior, Defense Mode." _He considers leaping from his dragon to Kaiba's, so he'd only have to protect one dragon, but decides to hold his ground for the moment_._As the dragon approaches, Yugi hears, a small voice_  
Hey, Yuugi!

Yuugi: _shocked_ M-mokuba-kun! _seriously hopes he's right_!

_Mokuba yells and waves from dragon_ "YUUGI!"

_As the dragon nears, Yuugi can indeed see the small figure on its back. He sweatdrops more than a little, thinking that he must look the same in comparison to his own mount - shakes it off, waves back_

Yuugi: "Mokuba-kun! What are you doing here? Never mind that - your brother needs help! I think something must have happened outside! He's passed out for no reason I can tell - or his character has - and I can't get him to respond! _WORRY_

Mokuba: "Yeah, I know, he ran out of fuel, too much multi-tasking and no coffee, I put some coffee in him but it may take awhile. That's why I'm here."

Yuugi: "Oh? Well, that's good! That you're here and that it's not something more serious. Um . . . not that a lack of coffee /isn't/ serious in his case. Do you know about a shortcut to the black dragon level boss by the dwarven kingdom? Kaiba-kun mentioned it right before he passed out. And . . . do you have a full, uninfected Deck? Kaiba and I split one, because he lost almost all of his to a virus of some kind. And he thinks someone's messing with the computer codes - there are whole sections completely missing!

And . . . _drops voice_ Mokuba-kun . . . you believe in My Other Self, right? The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle . . ." _worryworry_

Mokuba : "Uh,...pause.. _and shakes head_ Yeah, my deck's fine.  
_looks at his brother with a concern look:  
think, "Come on, Seto"_  
_pauses to think_  
You mean the one who saved me from the death by  
virtual reality in Death - T?"

Yuugi: "Hm . . . well, guess we'll just have to find it ourselves. Come on, this way. _nod and grin before swinging his dragon around to head in that direction, having his "herd" Kaiba's as needed. As they settle into their new aerial path, Yugi glances sidelong at Mokuba_ Death-T . . . yup, and you've seen him lots of other times, too, if you think about it. Well, he's . . . we got separated earlier. If you look at whatever console you're playing from, you'll see that I'm Player One and Kaiba-kun's Player Three. You should find a record of a Player Two. That's Yami. He's lost somewhere in the game. I'm . . . really worried about him . . ." _falls_ _silent. A moment later, a faint line through the forest can be seen running up the mountain, visible as the dragons skim the treetops, the shortcut to the next major battle site_

_At that moment back in the real world is making goaning noises and squinting his eyes as though as recovering from a hangover_

_Mokuba attention goes to his brother on the dragon thinking he's awake._

Mokuba: " I hope Yami's OK, too."

Yuugi: _softly "_Thank you, Mokuba-kun . . . _is watching the path for signs of Yami or the boss dragon - soon spots the cliff edge where they fought _There!" _angles his dragon down to land_

_As Yuugi, Mokuba and Kaiba fly towards the boss dragon, Mokuba notices some movement in the corner of his eye_

Mokuba: ", Yuugi, did you see that?"

_The flapping of leather wings is heard_

_Yuugi frowns_ "Yup, sure do. Looks like maybe a dragon of some kind . . . ut-oh, more than one! _brings his dragon back up from the landing it was about to make_ Mokuba-kun, get back up! Hurry! We'll have a better chance if we don't let them get the drop on us from above."

_One of the Spear Dragons flies by and hits Kaiba slightly across the face, Kaiba bobbles a bit before resting back down on his dragon_

Yuugi: "_Gasp!_  
Kaiba-kun! Damn! Beta the Magnet Warrior, defend!"  
_reaches for his Deck to draw again, fearing that at this rate he may run out of cards before even reaching the boss dragon, let alone finding Yami_

_Kaiba slowly eyes his eyes and looks up from his dragon_

_Yuugi frowns, considering his options. He's just drawn Hammer Shot, plus he has Beta - if only until the next attack - and Multiply still set in a S/T slot . . . He braces, glancing between his new partner and their adversaries, keeping his dragon protectively covering Kaiba's and not aware of Kaiba's movement behind him._

_Kaiba back in the real world is slowly coming back to his senses and has his head up and confused on what just happened. Looks at the screen and is looking around because the last thing he remember they were battling Harpies.  
He's about to say something to Yuugi when a noise outside the basement draws his attention over there._

The rest of the flight closes just then, some of the dragons going for Mokuba, some for Kaiba, and some for Yuugi. Without its player guiding it, Kaiba's dragon takes no defensive action, one of the Spear Dragons landing a glancing blow to its flank and dealing it some damage. Beta gets in the way of the other dragon's attack, successfully blocking it, but getting destroyed in the process. Despite the physical pain of losing his Magnet Warrior, Yuugi manages to summon Hammer Shot on one of his own assailants. However, the other two deal enough damage to his dragon mount to destroy it, and he is falling. Yuugi only hopes he can catch a branch in the trees not /so/ far below him before the rocky ground "catches" him!

**Yuugi: 2130 LP**

**Mokuba: 4000 LP**

**Kaiba: 2100 LP**

Mokuba: "Yuugi!"  
_Mokuba commands the dragon he's on to drive after Yuugi, during this Mokuba's dragon also disappears before he can reach Yuugi and begins to free fall. Mokuba summons the Black Land Fire Dragon from his deck and hitches a ride. Black Land Fire dragon clutches Yuugi in its claws. _

Meanwhile, Kaiba in the real world has lost interest in the game and is focused on the noise coming from outside the door that more or less with the coffee snapped him back.

Just then Kaiba hears a high-pitched roaring sound in the game and turns and finds a flock of Spear Dragons flocking towards him. The Spear Dragons assault the dragon Kaiba is on forcing Kaiba to freefall.

In the real world  
Kaiba: "Damn it!"

_Goes to a menu in the games screen option clicks 'Items' and selects the briefcase.  
In the game, VR Kaiba is holding a briefcase which than he pushes a button and a parachute pops out and Kaiba floats down near Yuugi and Mokuba _

Kaiba: "Mokuba? What are you doing here?"  
_in an angry tone_

Yuugi shifts in the grasp of the dragon's claws, thankful for the catch even though it's uncomfortable. He's also thankful for the facedown card still floating in midair near him, corresponding to the set spell card on his Duel Disk. He looks up as he hears Kaiba's voice, shocked and relieved

Yuugi: "Kaiba-kun! Are you all right? GAH!

Sees the dragons still bearing down on them.

Never mind. We still have incoming!"

_Draws, summons Archfiend of Gilfer, sends him up after the dragons_.

_Kaiba sets a trap/magic facedown and Mokuba sets a monster in defense mode  
Kaiba to Mokuba _

Kaiba: "**MOKUBA!**"

_Mokuba has a terrified look_  
Kaiba: "What are you doing here? Do you remember what happened _last_ time you where here?"_glares at Mokuba_

Mokuba: "But big brother..."

Kaiba: "No but's Mokuba! You shouldn't be here.

_turns to Yuugi_  
Have I missed much?"

Yuugi: "Kaiba-kun! He came in to help while you were unconscious . . . and we don't exactly have time for that. Spear Dragons at eleven o'clock!  
_Points as he says so, noting in relief that his Gilfer Demon has taken out two more of the opponents. Sees that Kaiba is still descending under his parachute as he passes Yuugi and Mokuba, while Mokuba's Black Land Fire Dragon continues to hold its position in midair._  
Mokuba-kun, you and I need to cover your brother. Kaiba-kun, when you get to ground, see if you can find something to help us deal with these dragons. I'll bet there's some trump card down there somewhere if not for the Spear Dragons, maybe to help with the boss dragon."  
_Also notes that Kaiba's been a bit distracted, and is wondering if there's something going on in the real world, too . . . but they're down in the security-locked basements. Yuugi wonders - who or what could possibly reach them down there to cause a disturbance?_

VR Kaiba: _reacts to Spear Dragons assault_ "Relieve facedown card, Mirror Force! _That felt weird saying that_

_The Spear Dragons screech one last time_. _Looks at Mokuba_ _and shakes his head_  
OK, Mokuba, if you want to get yourself into this mess that's fine by me but don't be upset if something happens to you again."  
Mokuba: _big eyed_ "Big brother..."  
VR Kaiba: "Yuugi, there _should_ be a..."  
_Once again, Kaiba in the basement, Kaiba is  
distracted again, hearing voices in the hallway outside saying, "I think he's in this room. You unplug him from his pod while I'll go and try to find Kaiba_

Yuugi: "Between the two of us, I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, we could use all the help we can get right now. _frowns when Kaiba stops mid sentence, turning as though to listen to something - back in the real world maybe . . . _  
Kaiba-kun . . . what is it?" _glances at Mokuba, though he suspects the boy won't know any more than he does_

Authors Note: Sorry that's all for now, check my info page for any updates. goes back to RPing


End file.
